> [!note] Ref. > *Jar with Dragon and Phoenix Design*. 1522–1566. Carved lacquer in cinnabar and other colors, Overall: 11.8 cm (4 5/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Collection: China - Ming Dynasty; Department: Chinese Art; Provenance: description: (Kochukyo Co., Inc., Tokyo, Japan, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art);  date: ?-1972; description: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH;  date: 1972-; John L. Severance Fund. https://jstor.org/stable/community.24613166. # Jar with Dragon and Phoenix Design (1522-1566) > date: 1522–1566 > > ‘A phoenix and dragon alternating with two auspicious ornate characters—“fortune” 福（fu) and “longevity” 壽 (shou)—adorn this exquisitely carved lacquer jar. Similar to contemporary five-color (wucai) decoration on porcelain, this jar shows layers of lacquer in black, ochre, green, and cinnabar (red). In a time-consuming process, a multitude of lacquer coatings were applied to the wooden core before its design could be carved into the surface. The phoenix and dragon are imperial emblems suggesting that this jar was made for the court. The base of the jar is inscribed: “Made in the Jiajing-era of the Great Ming \[dynasty]. > > inscription: 大明嘉靖年製 > inscription translation: Da Ming Jiajing nian zhi; > inscription remark: Made in the Ming dynasty, Jiajing period. > > medium: carved lacquer in [[Cinnabar]] and other colors > > measurements: overall - 11.8cm.’[^1] ![[China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen, Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Jiajing mark and reign (1522-66)-JarDragonPhoenix-152266-1, Licenced CC0.jpg]] ![[China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen, Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Jiajing mark and reign (1522-66)-JarDragonPhoenix-152266-2, Licenced CC1.0.jpg]] ![[China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen, Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Jiajing mark and reign (1522-66)-JarDragonPhoenix-152266-4, Licenced CC1.0.jpg]] ![[China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen, Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Jiajing mark and reign (1522-66)-JarDragonPhoenix-152266-5, Licenced CC1.0.jpg]][Jar with Dragon and Phoenix Design, JSTOR](https://jstor.org/stable/community.24613166) ([CC 1.0](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)). [^1]: ‘Jar with Dragon and Phoenix Design’. Lacquer. Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, China, 66 1522. 1972.14. The Cleveland Museum of Art. [https://jstor.org/stable/community.24613166](https://jstor.org/stable/community.24613166).